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I noticed that one of my recent posts, 12 Tips for Staying Productive and Avoiding Burnout has attracted some searchers coming in looking for advice on keeping your temper. To be honest, I have a short temper. However, I’ve found that I have a large capacity for managing my temper.

1. Pause. Take a few seconds and ask yourself why you’re angry.
2. Breathe. Get some air. When I get really angry, I sometimes have physical reactions such as shaking, turning red, or holding my breath. Bring yourself back to a centered, calm place by taking a deep breath.
3. Think. Force yourself think rationally about what’s making you angry. This helps you keep a clear head about the situation.
4. Think ahead. If you decide you have a reason to be upset, consider the ramifications of your actions. Is there anything to be gained by saying or doing what you want to say or do?
5. Empathize. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Why is there a problem? If you can identify the problem, you can start working toward a solution.
6. Express yourself calmly. If you decide you need to let the other person know how angry you are, do it calmly and in a non-threatening manner. Don’t blow your top just yet—explain you are angry and that you would like to resolve the problem.
7. Don’t shoot the messenger. Is the problem you’re angry about really caused by the person you’re working directly with? Taking it out on this person won’t help. Sometimes you can make this work to your advantage by letting them know just how upset you are, but that you know it’s not their fault–and you need their help to make it better.
8. Get away. Take a break. Go for a walk. A nap can clear things out. Get some exercise. If you’re going to lose it, keep your cool until you can blow off some steam somewhere safe.
9. Share the burden. Vent to a friend (who knows you’re venting, lest he or she make the situation worse). If you feel advice would help, ask for it.

Communication Barriers

I studied in Japan for a year. It was there that I learned patience and communication. Trying to express yourself to someone in a language in which you are barely proficient is frustrating beyond belief. I found myself trying to use words for which I knew no English equivalent. Sometimes I fell back on charades, using a Japanese-English dictionary, or drawing pictures.

As mad as I was sometimes, I discovered that I was more upset at the difficulty of communicating. This isn’t just true for different cultures or languages–it’s true for different sub-cultures and the special languages they use. Imagine a doctor trying to explain a complicated procedure to a patient. Or a technician walking a customer through the process of troubleshooting software. It’s maddening.

Give them the benefit.

It’s probably not personal. Mistakes happen, and you’ll find it’s easier to resolve them calmly than it is to get angry. Angry people aren’t necessarily rational, so it becomes very difficult for someone to reason with you and explain where the problem came from. Assume the person either made an honest mistake or they were not at all responsible for the problem.

Talk with your money

If you are angry at a business, you should let them know you are upset (do it calmly) and why. Let them know the consequences—that if the problem cannot be resolved, take your business elsewhere. Don’t make threats.

Patience and Attitude

It’s all about patience. Your time is valuable, but it’s often faster to keep cool and let things work themselves out. After I lived in Japan, I worked for over a year as a help desk phone support technician. I dealt with a range of problems and people, troubleshooting and fixing problems on the phone. On the phone (and Internet), people are physically distant from you so they find it easier to cast social niceties aside and be rude. Some of these people might have spent hours trying to fix their own problem before calling me, so I decided that it was best to treat them all as if they were just about to give up. Because most users aren’t experts, an impatient technical support person is even more frustrating. Here’s where attitude is a huge help. Friendliness and endless patience is very disarming. I found it helped to lighten the moment with a joke or by striking up some personal connection. It can bring the other person over to your side.

Compromise

You can’t always get what you want. In the end, you may not be perfectly happy with the situation. But you can feel some relief in its resolution. I once heard that “a good deal is one where both sides feel like they lost.” I don’t know how much I agree with that, but I’ll say that if you have an opportunity to clear up your problem by giving in a bit, you should consider whether it’s even worth your time and blood pressure to keep fighting.

So… what tips do you have for cooling off and keeping yourself from losing your temper?

CSS is the language of web design. Molly E. Holzschlag

In a typical web shop, the web designer is usually responsible for CSS and XHTML. This person then works with a developer to combine the web design with the web application portion of the project.

This is part of why the web is a disgusting mess of tables nearly a decade after CSS1 was released. What this essay will do is provide some insight on who should be using CSS and why.

Define: Web Designer

The role of the designer is to accomplish the project goals in a visual manner. This means layout of the site elements, content styling, visual flow, and how to implement the architecture. In a neatly partitioned shop, the end product of the designer is a (probably layered PSD) image file. A web designer is a graphic designer for websites.

Define: Web Developer

The developer is responsible for implementing the design and project requirements. This includes CSS, XHTML, PHP, Ruby, SQL, Javascript, and about 63 million other acronyms that get tossed into the job requirements but may not have any logical connection to the actual work done. A web developer handles the technical production of a website.

Where CSS fits in

Like I said before, many designers use XHTML/CSS to build their designs and make them work in browsers. In a proper web shop, this should never happen. Designers are responsible for the visual, creative side of the design. They have to work hard enough keeping up with the latest software tools and design.

Developers, on the other hand, have to keep up with their technology and code. XHTML, CSS, and Javascript aren�t normal programming languages, per se but they rely on the same logic and concepts as traditional programming. Start moving into PHP, Perl and Ruby, and suddenly you�re in the realm of programming.

So why do we ask designers to learn CSS/XHTML? This means browser compatibility. It means dealing with all kinds of glitches, bugs, and quirks. It means thinking about search engines and trying to keep up with the latest legitimate techniques. It means being technical.

It�s also hard work, especially if you�re used to tables and font tags. Getting someone (especially a non-geek) to learn a completely different method is difficult. Coupled with the frustrating inconsistencies in support, it�s an even bigger obstacle.

From a management perspective, it might make sense for designers to do CSS. After all, if you do any work on the web you must be able to do everything on the web, right? That�s why you have one-man web departments being hired where the skill set requires Photoshop through Java and a hefty dose of server administration. It�s not right.

Limitations

One of the rationales I hear about designers using CSS is that they need to know what can and can�t be done in CSS. If the designer believes something can�t be done, the design won�t include it � and that means sacrificing a design for the sake of the technology. This is dangerous: it is the developer�s job to know what can and can�t be done with CSS, Javascript, etc. The developer takes the design and tries to make it work. As it turns out, CSS isn�t nearly as limiting as many people think. I�m far better at CSS because I�ve had �impossible� designs tossed at me and been forced to think up creative solutions as a result.

The way it should work

A successful web firm will have a designer who does design and a developer who takes that design and converts it to XHTML/CSS. Just as you wouldn�t hire a graphic designer to write brochure copy, you shouldn�t expect your web designer to be a master coder. (Of course, it�s not impossible for a talented designer to also be a talented developer of CSS/XHTML, or anything else.) Having a design-only designer means producing a visual design based on the client�s needs, not on their ideas about the limitations of CSS.

In small firms, however, there is a bit of an exception. Perhaps you don�t have enough work for a full-time designer. So you hire a designer/developer who can do both. Ask yourself which part of the project is being compromised as a result? Is it the design or the development that suffers?

Making it right

As a designer, consider partnering with a developer to get the most out of your design. As a developer, consider that your skills may be enhanced by outsourcing the design aspect of your work to a professional designer. Like my favorite website-as-a-house metaphor: just because you have the tools there doesn�t mean you should be the one using them.

cold feet
pl.n. Slang. Fearfulness or timidity preventing the completion of a course of action. answers.com

The project is 99% done. The design is approved. The IA is approved. The site is built and content is in the pages. You�ve tested everything. It�s ready to launch. But you don�t. The client won�t approve it.

The client has cold feet.

Running Smoothly: Efficient Projects

Recently, I took a sample of some recent redesign projects. I discovered that a typical web project averages 154 hours. At 75% billable rate (30 hours/week), that breaks down to just over 5 weeks. Split among three people, such a project could be done in under a month.

It never does.

Our average project seems to take eight weeks from initiation to launch. The obvious reason is that we�re not working 154 uninterrupted hours. We spend days of non-billable time waiting for clients to produce assets, approve designs, etc. These are the gaps in the project.

It�s in our interest to reduce those gaps. My projects focus on content before we produce designs. This prevents the design from getting stale while we wait for content. It also helps us keep the client moving forward � they want to see that design, and you�re not showing it to them until they�ve got their content done.

But when you�ve done all the work and things are ready to go forward, what can you say to the client that won�t launch?

Cold Feet: Why and What to Do About It

1. Fear of commitment. It�s the end of the project. They�ve invested time and money. Launching means they�re going to say something to the public, and this scares clients.

Answer: It�s a website, not a stone tablet and chisel. Unlike traditional print, radio, or television media, a website can be easily changed after launch. Set the expectation that this website is a work in progress. It doesn�t have to be perfect because it can be improved again later.

2. Fear of being alone. Once you launch the site, the client is in over their head. So far you�ve been holding their hand and they feel safe. Now, you�re asking them to ride alone.

Answer: Commit to the client, not to the project. When you launch the site, do you leave them to fend for themselves? You shouldn�t. Check in on them and have follow-up meetings after launch. Keep holding their hand and make sure they know you�ll be there after you launch.

3. They�re not completely satisfied. The text isn�t quite right. They aren�t sure if they need this page or if they should add a page. They have more content they want to write.

Answer: Show the difference. They may never be satisfied with it. Again, it�s a website � it�s not permanent. It can be fixed later. But to urge them to move forward (rather than try to fix it all now), compare the new website to their old site. The value of launching is that it�s often a huge step forward from where they have been. Pull up their old site (or if they don�t have any website, it�s even better) and ask them to consider how much business they�re losing for each day that they delay launch.

4. Client is MIA You haven�t heard anything from the client in days or weeks. They aren�t answering the phone or responding to emails. The project stagnates.

Answer: Stay in touch Build a relationship where you hold regular meetings � weekly, perhaps � and stick to them. Stay in touch via email and phone a few times a week. That way, it�s unusual for any gap more than a few days. If you have to, contact the boss or another contact within the company and do a friendly check-in. There may be extenuating circumstances.

5. Out of money Sometimes a client runs out of money. This is a terrible situation to be in as a business. When you can�t pay your bills, you have to deal with creditors calling to collect.

Answer: Be flexible. If it�s apparent that money has become an issue, offer to be flexible. Explain that you want to move forward, but understand they may need a little time to get rolling again. Ask them to settle the bill for work performed and you can shelve the project until they�re ready to move forward again. If things aren�t too tight, you can offer to spread out payment a bit to keep things moving forward. Don�t just let them off the hook (that�s a surefire way to shoot yourself in the foot). In some unfortunate instances, the client might file bankruptcy and you won�t get paid for any of your work at all. Just because you lose the project doesn�t mean you have to lose the relationship.

Manage the Relationship

Launching the site means increased exposure and expanded portfolio for you, but it�s a scary process for many clients. From the beginning, you need to set expectations about timeline and responsibilities. Let the client know what happens when you launch their project and what will happen afterwards. Assuage their fears early and they won�t grow into fears later on.

In the end, one of the most valuable parts of a project is the relationship you build. I�m not talking about becoming best friends with your client; I�m talking about building your business. Happy customers are evangelists. They send you more work both from their own future needs and from their networks.